Beacon Essentials You Must Quickly Learn

Our resident Cognizant digital/mobile expert, Peter Rogers, asked me to recommend a digital strategies topic to share, and I suggested Beacons for this week.  I confess to reading about them daily without knowing much about them, so I want to thank Peter for this article!  Enjoy!
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Digital & Mobile Expert
Peter Rogers

Let's start with a Basic Beacons 101 class:

1. Beacons do not push out notifications. They broadcast an advertisement of themselves (traditionally their UUID, major and minor values) and can be detected by Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) devices.
2. The proximity from a number of Beacons can be measured using typical triangulation techniques in order to get a (very) rough idea of (typically) indoor location.
3. The Beacon UUID, major and minor version values are typically used for identification and used to map to either a message, service, media content, website, application or location inside the Native App.
4. Beacons can have their UUID, major and minor versions (and indeed power level) modified statically before deployment or dynamically using WiFi connectivity. A Beacon Management App is often provided by a Beacon Platform Vendor to allow you to manage these values dynamically.
5. Updating the Beacon major and minor values can be used to update the identity of the Beacons and subsequently change what they map to inside the Native App. This does mean there is a security risk of somebody remotely hacking your Beacons and changing their values to take down or corrupt your service.
6. iBeacon is Apple’s proprietary BLE profile but their patents seem to cover more than just the profile aspect. There were Beacons before iBeacons. Apple did not invent the Beacon. What they did is an incredibly good job of integrating Beacon support into iOS. iBeacon is not a piece of hardware. It is a BLE profile that is loaded onto a piece of hardware. This profile makes the Beacon an iBeacon.
7. There are many Beacon vendors who offer various capabilities such as: BlueCats; BlueSense; Gelo; Kontakt.io; Glimworm; Sensorberg; Sonic Notify; beaconstac; mibeacon (Mubaloo); estimote; Gimbal (Qualcomm); Apple; and Google, etc. 

Beacon vendors offer various difference offerings such as:

• hardware
• proprietary BLE Beacon profiles
• support for popular profiles
• remote Beacon management
• analytics
• associated content management
• marketing campaigns
• software version management
• profile switching
• client side SDKs
• professional support services

Most do not offer the whole solution, and so it was interesting to see Apple and then Google throw their hat into the ring. Most people are still really excited about Apple’s iBeacons, but they look like they will become a closed eco-system which could possibly even include being able to be physically undetectable to non-Apple hardware.  Today Beacon vendors are just not allowed to provide library based support for iBeacons on Android hardware (http://beekn.net/2014/07/ibeacon-for-android/).

At the start of 2015 Google created a new form of Beacon called UriBeacon (http://uribeacon.io/) which was able to actually advertise a URL pointing to a website or a URL that could be processed locally. This was in stark contrast to all the previous forms of Beacon which could only advertise their identity (UUID, minor, major). UriBeacons also promised to be cheaper and easier to configure, which was largely down to their more limited use case of just being used to advertise a URL/URI. The killer concept, however, was that of The Physical Web. The Physical Web is an approach to unleash the core superpower of the web: interaction on demand. People should be able to walk up to any smart device and not have to download an app first. A small pre-installed App (like the Web Browser or something Operating System level) on the phone scans for URLs that are nearby. Google previously used the UriBeacon format to find nearby URLs without requiring any centralized registrar.

This was a major breakthrough because having to download an App for each Beacon vendor completely breaks the organic, intelligent, evolutionary Smart City model. Notice that I used the words ‘without having to download an App’. You still need an App to process the UriBeacons, however, this can be built into the Web Browser (Chrome offers this for iOS) or the Operating System (Android M offers this). The following vendors offer UriBeacons: Blesh; BKON; iBliO; KST; and twocanoes, etc.  

Recently Google updated their single-case UriBeacon specification to that of Eddystone. Eddystone is an open-source cross-platform beacon solution that supports broadcasting of UUID, URL, EIDs and Telemetry data. Previously Beacons had only supported UUID until UriBeacons offered the single option of URL advertisement. Eddystone offers an additional two frame types: Ephemeral ID is an ID which changes frequently and is only available to an authorised app; Telemetry is data about the beacon or attached sensors: e.g. battery life, temperature, humidity. Unlike iBeacons, which must be approved by Apple, anyone can make an Eddystone-compatible beacon. Current beacon manufacturers include: Estimote; Kontakt; and Radius Networks, etc.

The Eddystone-URL frame broadcasts a URL using a compressed encoding format in order to fit more within the limited advertisement packet. Once decoded, the URL can be used by any client with access to the internet. For example, if an Eddystone-URL beacon were to broadcast A URL then any client that received this packet and with an Internet connection could choose to visit that URL (probably over WiFi). You can use an App to manage that experience and either take you directly to the URL or process a URI internally to perform some other function without network connectivity. Better still The Physical Web initiative has moved away from UriBeacon to the open initiative of Eddystone.

Now one thing to realise is that Eddystone may support iOS but that obviously does not include integration with CoreLocation as per iBeacons. Eddystone beacons only interact with iOS devices via CoreBluetooth which means you have more work to do. Likewise, on Android M there are a whole bunch of new APIs and those will not be available on iOS.

• The Nearby API makes it easy for apps to find and communicate with beacons to get specific information and context. Apparently it uses a combination of Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and inaudible sound.
• Nearby provides a proximity API called Nearby Messages in which iOS devices, Android devices and Beacons can discover, communicate and share data/content with each other.
• The Proximity Beacon API helps developers to manage data and content associated with Beacons. Once Beacons are registered with Google's Proximity Beacon API then we can map data and content that can be pulled from the Cloud using a REST interface. This makes Content Management Solutions much easier and gives us the ability to dynamically map content available to Beacons. This functionality will most probably be supported in the Physical Web through Web Browsers clients that support this API through JavaScript.  
• Place Picker is an extension of Places API that can show Beacons in your immediate vicinity. The Places API is also able to read and write Beacon positioning information (GPS coordinates, indoor floor level, etc.) from/to the Google Places database using a unique Place ID based around the Beacon UUID and then have the Beacons navigable though Google Maps. This would provide a much better retail solution where customers could literally Google “Hair Shampoo” inside a Boots store and be taken directly to the product using indoor positioning.

I am sure you have many questions such as, can a Beacon run iBeacon and Eddystone simultaneously. At the moment the Beacon vendors offer the ability to support both profiles but not simultaneously. This is apparently due to battery usage. Most vendors do seem to support simultaneous broadcast of UUID, URL and Telemetrics within Eddystone though. For any other questions then here is a fantastic Q&A on Eddystone from Kontakt.io (http://kontakt.io/blog/eddystone-faq/).

The Physical Web has now moved away from UriBeacon and onto Eddystone-URL frames. A few months ago, Chrome for iOS added a Today widget. The new Chrome for iOS integrates the Physical Web into the Chrome Today widget, enabling users to access an on-demand list of web content that is relevant to their surroundings. The Physical Web displays content that is broadcasted using Eddystone-URL format. You can add your content to the Physical Web by simply configuring a beacon that supports Eddystone-URL to transmit your URL of choice. When users who have enabled the Physical Web open the Today view, the Chrome widget scans for broadcasted URLs and displays these results, using estimated proximity of the beacons to rank the content.

The Physical Web also support finding URLs through Wifi using mDNS (and uPnP). The multicast Domain Name System (mDNS) resolves host names to IP addresses within small networks that do not include a local name server. It is a zero-configuration service, using essentially the same programming interfaces, packet formats and operating semantics as DNS. While designed by Stuart Cheshire to be stand-alone capable, it can work in concert with DNS servers. The mDNS protocol is implemented by the Apple Bonjour and by Linux nss-mdns services. In other words rather than waiting for your client to discover a Beacon advertising a UUID or URL then you could actually start searching for local services hosted on Beacons using a multicast form of DNS. Beacons are actually more powerful than most people realise and can often run micro-services on them. In fact if we think about it then Beacon based services are the ultimate form of a micro-service architecture. Brillo is an upcoming Android-based operating system for IoT devices and this lightweight OS could theoretically run on a Beacon which would enable a portable way of deploying a Beacon based micro-service architecture.

When you woke up this morning did you honestly think that Beacons were that powerful?

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Kevin Benedict

Writer, Speaker, Analyst and World Traveler

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***Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and digital transformation analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Africa, Mobile Phones and Refugees

Boise's Congolese/Rwandan
Refugee Community

This week a friend texted to ask advice on an appropriate welcome gift to present newly arriving Syrian refugees in Boise, Idaho. Without hesitation I said a cheap mobile phone with prepaid minutes. Why?  We are active in the refugee community and over the past three years have lost new refugees in the city. We have had kids waiting for moms that we can't find.  We have missed numerous doctor appointments because of language barriers and a lack of communications.  We have learned the value of even the simplest and cheapest of mobile phones.

We have learned, working with the mostly Congolese/Rwandan refugee community, that when people have phones, coordination is far easier and more efficient.  When refugees first arrive, they are scheduled with non-stop appointments with different agencies, healthcare services and schools.  They are in a new culture, with a new language, in a new city/state/country, with many new systems all involving reams of paperwork.  Phones and conference calls with translators help them navigate through each challenge and obstacle.

My wife just returned from Rwanda, Africa.  While there, I was able to be in real-time communications with her in the remotest corners of the country.  She had purchased an international data and phone plan from AT&T, and she could text and send photos and videos all along the way.  She blogged daily (read it here http://words-on-the-way.blogspot.com/), and yes, there is an app for that.  In addition to communicating, she used her iPhone to take hundreds of photos and many videos.  She had an entire global audience of friends, family and social media followers digitally experiencing her travels and experiences.

In days past, reporters would struggle to document news, read what they had written over the phone, mail their unprocessed film to distant offices, or use satellite phones to send them.  Today with ubiquitous wireless connectivity and smartphones, we can experience the world LIVE!

Tate (grandma)

Our friends in the refugee community here in Boise have many friends and family members remaining in Rwanda.  Mobile phones, the internet and mobile applications enable them to stay connected.  In fact, while my wife, Shawna, was traveling to visit Tate (Kinyarwandan for grandma) in a remote part of the country without a street address, they were able to use mobile phones in the USA to inform family members of the visit, and then coordinate with them to have a person meet the car along a road to guide them to the right village, house and grandma.

When refugees arrive in Europe or North America, they connect with and share their experiences with those back home.  They can be the support system for those that arrive later.  Today, refugees meet refugees at the airport.  Friends and family connected by mobile devices have a ready made support system to quickly educate and teach new arrivals on how things work.

Also, in Africa, where large segments of the population are unbanked (without bank accounts), digital banks and payment services like M-Pesa have stepped in.  From Wikipedia, M-Pesa (M for mobile, pesa is Swahili for money) is a mobile-phone based money transfer and microfinancing service, launched in 2007 by Vodafone for Safaricom and Vodacom, the largest mobile network operators in Kenya and Tanzania.  M-Pesa allows users to deposit, withdraw, transfer money and pay for goods and services easily with a mobile device.  M-Pesa brings payment services and infrastructure to the remotest corners of Africa.  These mobile phone services provide security and safety for money transfers and make it harder for theft and bribes to intercept them.

In my professional life I research, write and teach about mobile technologies and their utility and value.  In my personal and professional life, I experience it.  In the refugee community, it is an essential tool for adapting to a new world.  It is a connection with family and friends still in refugee camps and in remote mountain villages.  It is their communication with the past, essential tool, digital wallet and social network of today, and link to a better tomorrow.

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Kevin Benedict

Writer, Speaker, Senior Analyst

The Center for the Future of Work, Cognizant

View my profile on LinkedIn

Read more at Future of Work

Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com

Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict

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***Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and digital transformation analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

IoT Sensors, Tactile Feedback, iPhones and Digital Transformation

IoT sensors extend our physical senses beyond our physical reach and communicate the results from afar. They also allow us to share experiences remotely, not just mentally, but also tactilely. That is the first time I have ever used the word “tactilely.” It means to tangibly or physically experience something. For example, AMS’s MEMS gas sensor allows people to hear, see and smell inside their home remotely from an iPhone app. The Withings Home camera sends alerts to an iPhone if it detects movement or noise in the house. Its night-vision sensor mode enables the remote viewer to even see in the dark. The viewer can also talk through the camera to ask questions like, “Who are you, and why are you carrying my big screen TV away?”

Today you can combine 3D modeling apps for smartphones and tablets with sounds, vibrations and colors so you can augment your reality with tactile experiences. Wireless sensors and 3D modeling and visualization tools enable you to see and monitor conditions at distance - in real-time. A combination of sensors, analytics, visualization and tactile feedback tools can alert and inform you of changing conditions, patterns or variations in activity or data patterns. This experience can truly augment your reality.

The new Apple Watch enables you to signal somebody on the other side of the world with tactile vibrations that you customize. For example, while on the road I can signal my wife that I miss her by sending five quick “pulses” that vibrate on her wrist.

Digitally modeled realities enable experts, from anywhere in the world, to work and manage factories, farms and other kinds of operations from distant locations. The obstacles of the past, lack of information and monitoring capabilities, that resulted in operational blind spots are quickly disappearing as more sensors are put in place. Most of us either own or have seen noise canceling headsets. Sensors in the headset capture the incoming noise and then instantly counter with anti-sound that matches the sensor data. This same kind of sensor technology can capture noise and transmit it to distant locations where it can be recreated and listened to by others.

I can image near-term scenarios where entire factory floors are digitally replicated and real-time operations can be viewed and managed from great distances. Every component of the operation can be monitored via sensor data. Aberrations, out of compliance data, and other faults would instantly cause alerts, notifications and remedies to be implemented.

In the military arena, acoustical sensors can now pin-point the location of incoming bullets, rockets, missiles, etc., in real-time and activate various instantaneous counter measure technologies. Data means power.

Today's competitive marketplace requires companies to collect more data, analyze more data and utilize more data to improve customer interactions and engagements. Mobile devices are exceptionally designed to assist in this effort. Apple's iPhone and Apple Watch come with an array of sensors for collecting data about your surroundings:

• Touch/Multi-Touch screen sensor
• Force Touch sensor– measures different levels of touch (Apple Watch), determines the difference between a tap and a press
• Taptic Engine sensor – tactile feedback via gentle vibration(Apple Watch)
• Audio/Voice sensor
• GPS sensor
• Bluetooth sensor (supports iBeacon)
• WiFi sensor
• WiFi strength sensor – help track indoor activities
• Proximity sensor - deactivates the display and touchscreen when the device is brought near the face during a call, and it shuts off the screen and touch sensitivity
• Ambient Light sensor - brightens the display when you’re in sunlight and dims it in darker place
• Magnetometer sensor - measure the strength and/or direction of the magnetic field in the vicinity of the device – runs digital compass
• Accelerometer sensor- measures the force of acceleration, i.e. the speed of movement (uses movement and gravity sensing), steps counter, distance, speed of movement, detects the angle an iPhone is being held
• Apple Watch sensors measure steps taken, calories burned, and pulse rate
• Gyroscope – 3 axis gyro (combined with Accelerometer provides 6 axis motion sensing), Pitch, Roll and Yaw
• Barometer sensor – altitude, elevation gain during workouts, weather condition
• Camera sensor with a plethora of sensors and digital features: face detection, noise reduction, optical image stabilization, auto-focus, color sensors, backside Illumination sensor, True Tone sensor and flash 
• Fingerprint identity sensor
• Heart rate sensor (Apple Watch) - uses infrared and visible-light LEDs and photodiodes to detect heart rate Sensor

Other sensor add-ons: Personal Thermal Imagery Cameras sensor (Flir)

I attended a defense related conference and listened to an IT expert in the CIA present on how they can use sensors on smartphones to uniquely identify the walking style and pace of individuals. For example, the intelligence agency may suspect a person carrying a phone is a bad guy. They can remotely switch on the smartphone's sensors and record the walking style and pace of the person carrying the phone and match it with their database records.

Sensors help bridge the gap between the physical and digital worlds. They convert the physical world into data. Tactile feedback tools convert the data back into physical experiences – like a Star Trek Transporter.

Mobile apps can also be considered the API (application programming interface) between humans and smartphones. Sensors are the API between the phone and the physical world. For example, a mobile application for recommending local restaurants may start by asking the user what kind of food they prefer. The human queries their stomach for pain and preferences, and then inputs the results into mobile apps by touching the keypad or using their voice. Suddenly a server in an Amazon data center knows your stomach's inputs! That is one powerful sensor and API! Given the vast array of sensors in the human body incredible things can be done once those sensor convert them to data.

Until recently, the data from natural sensors in the human body were mostly communicated to analytics engines via human's touch, typing, drawings or voice inputs. The emergence of wearable sensors and smart devices, however, change that. Wearable sensors can bypass the human in the middle and wirelessly communicate directly with your applications or healthcare provider.

Sensors and computers are also connected to the non-physical. Applications can react differently based on recognized time inputs. Once time reaches a specified location (place?), an alarm can be activated sending sound waves to your physical ear. That is converting the non-physical (time) into sound waves that vibrate our ear drums.

The challenge for businesses today is to envision how all of these sensors and available real-time data can be used to improve sales, customer service, product design, marketplace interactions and engagements so there are more profits at the end of the day.

In the book Digital Disruptions, James McQuivey writes that for most of history, disruptions (business and marketplace transformations) occurred in a physical world of factories and well-trod distribution networks. However, the disruptors of tomorrow are likely coming from digital disruptions - sensors, code halos, big data, mobile devices and wearables.

The task and challenge of every IT department is to understand and design a strategy that recognizes the competitive playing fields of tomorrow are among the digits.

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Kevin Benedict

Writer, Speaker, Senior Analyst

Digital Transformation, EBA, Center for the Future of Work Cognizant

View my profile on LinkedIn

Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com

Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict

Browse the Mobile Solution Directory

Subscribe to Kevin'sYouTube Channel

Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility

Join the Google+ Community Mobile Enterprise Strategies

***Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and digital transformation analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Mobility, Location, Speed and Refugees

In today's world of fast paced project management, simply knowing a location on a map where something is supposed to happen is not good enough - we need to know a location-in-time, what is happening there (status), and who or what (resources) are present there and how this information is going to impact future plans.  This information is particularly important when you are managing projects, with time constraints, and organizing events and meetings across a wide geographical area.

The key planning concept here is - location at a point-in-time.  If I ask, where was the bus located on the route? You would likely respond, "At what time?"  The same response could be used for the question, "Where will the bus be?"  Time and location are necessary for planning current and future events and activities.

This week my family is experiencing and struggling with location and time.  Several families from our church have adopted a refugee family from the Congo and are helping them to survive, integrate, adapt and ultimately thrive in their new country.  The family consists of a mother and three children.  We are learning so much!

The mother doesn't speak English, doesn't have work, doesn't have a home, doesn't have money, doesn't have an income, doesn't have winter clothes, doesn't own a watch, doesn't have a working mobile phone, doesn't have a car (Boise, Idaho has limited public transportation) and has kids in school. The family has a busy schedule of appointments with social services, English classes, buses, school schedules and medical appointments.  Wow!  It can at times seem overwhelming.  There are many dozens of appointments all at different times and locations.

Yesterday, one of our support team went to pick up the refugee mother for an appointment and she could not be located.  Yikes!  There were appointments to keep, language classes to attend, school buses to catch and kids to track.  We ultimately found her and got the day back on track, but I was again reminded of how important it is to have mobile communications and location knowledge.  It is very difficult to keep things organized and on schedule without these.

Mobile technologies, location information and social collaboration platforms can provide enormous productivity gains and an increased speed of work or operational tempo.  Time, status and location data, and the ability to share this knowledge, enables one to accomplish a great deal more in a given time.

To appreciate the full value of these solutions, just try to track and monitor a refugee family with three children, on different school schedules, no permanent home, and dozens of weekly meetings all across the city, while not leaving them stranded and freezing to death in zero degree (F) Boise, Idaho weather.

Our team has learned and experienced much over the past few weeks and we are better for it.  With the constant use of mobile communications, DropBox and collaboration websites, plus a lot of love and commitment, our team has managed to keep them alive, so far.

Yesterday I thought to myself, I should buy the refugee mother a mobile phone (iPhone or Android) with Google Latitude.  That way she could download Swahili translation software, keep a calendar, have a clock with an alarm, voice or text us, email, see a map, view the bus schedule, FaceTime, conduct conference calls with a translator, Skype with her friends overseas, plus we could know her location.

Then I woke up from my fantasy.  That would probably be too much in the beginning.  Many companies just getting involved in mobile technologies would also be over their heads if they tried to implement too much all at once.  It is a learning process.

We decided to start with a basic mobile phone with text messaging, but I still dream and look forward to introducing more mobile technologies into this effort.  It has reminded me of how valuable mobile devices and mobile apps, and the information received as a result of them, are to all of us.

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Kevin Benedict, Head Analyst for SMAC, Cognizant

ReadThe Future of Work

Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com

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Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility

Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and SMAC analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Mobile Expert Video Series: Syclo's Bill Padula

Last week at SAPinsider's Mobile2012 conference I was able to record an interview with Syclo's Bill Padula.  In this segment of the Mobile Expert Video Series, Bill shares what he is seeing as trends in the enterprise mobility market.

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Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile Industry Analyst, Consultant and SAP Mentor Volunteer

Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com

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Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

iPhone Owners First in Online Shopping and BlackBerry Owners are Last

In an article I read today on mobile marketing it said, "Consumers who own an Apple iPhone are more likely to shop online from their phones, than those consumers who owned phones based on Google Android or BlackBerry operating systems...BlackBerry is way behind the Android and iPhone."

Apple Stores and Motorola No More

In December of 2007 I wrote a blog article questioning why Apple was using the Motorola MC50 handheld computers and Microsoft Mobile operating systems in their stores rather than their own devices and operating systems.  Every time I popped into an Apple store for the next couple of years I would see the same thing.  However, last month I noted that all the Apple sales associates were carrying the Apple iTouch with a sleeve that appeared to have an integrated barcode reader.

I interpreted this development to be a measure of progress that Apple has made toward supporting enterprise requirements.  Early on, Apple would not use their own solutions for enterprise class POS and retail applications but now in 2010 they do.

The iTouch was using an integrated barcode reader which is a good step toward field data collection.  It seems reasonable to assume it could also integrate with RFID and any number of additional Bluetooth enabled data capture accessories.

I wonder if there would be a large enough market for a ruggedized iPhone?  It would not work well with field workers that wear gloves, but for many service technicians working primarily indoors it might be fine.  There are a lot of service technicians from companies like Konica Minolta that work indoors and are implementing mobile field services solutions. 

Here is a description of the Konica Minolta solution.  Jobs are raised in the SAP system, and this information is automatically passed to ClickSchedule via the existing interface. ClickSchedule (from an SAP mobility partner) then allocates the most suitable individual to fix or service the product based upon the engineers' skill sets, location and availability. This information is then seamlessly passed to the field engineer via rugged mobile devices which the engineers use again to update progress.

Wouldn't it be interesting if Apple developed a ruggedized and industrial grade device running iOS for this segment of the market?  Would this work or do you see more limitations with the iOS that would prevent this from being a reasonable alternative?

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Kevin Benedict, SAP Mentor, SAP Top Contributor, Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst
Phone +1 208-991-4410
twitter @krbenedict
Join SAP Enterprise Mobility on Linkedin:

http://www.linkedin.com/groups?about=&gid=2823585&trk=anet_ug_grppro

Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility consultant, mobility analyst, writer and Web 2.0 marketing professional. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Mobile Expert Interview Series: Pyxis Mobile's EVP Christopher Willis

Pyxis Mobile is one of those companies that accomplishes great things, but moves under the radar.  Gartner recently highlighted Pyxis Mobile in their Magic Quadrant report so moving under the radar may be over.  Pyxis Mobile has over 500,000 mobile clients in the field.  Most of their traditional customers are in the financial services industry, but they have been rapidly expanding into higher education, manufacturing and pharmaceuticals. I had the opportunity recently to interview Chris Willis, Pyxis Mobile's EVP of Marketing and Strategy.

Chris joined Pyxis in 1998.  In 2001 the company became 100% focused on enterprise mobility. 

Chris what mobile device do you carry?
I carry two mobile devices, the iPhone for personal use, and the BlackBerry Bold for professional use.  I have always used BlackBerrys professionally and am just used to it.  I know how to get what I need from it.  I use the iPhone as a large iPod.

What is your favorite mobile application?
A CRM application built by Pyxis Mobile.  It is connected to our expense management system and enables me to complete my expense reports while on the road.  On the personal side I love MLB at Bat.  When you see MLB at Bat on an iPad it is amazing.  It is better than the programs you get at the game.

What industries do you see adopting mobility?
Financial services is big for us.  Seventy percent of our business is still in financial services.  We have developed complete trading systems on mobile devices for some customers.  Higher education is big for us.  We have developed all kinds of mobile applications for universities that show class schedules, grades, etc.  Emerging markets for us are in manufacturing and pharmaceuticals.

What business processes do you see companies mobilizing first?
Sales and field services to start, however, nowadays we are seeing a lot of B2C (business to consumer) application demand.  Companies want to give mobile applications to their customers for product sales, branding, marketing and customer support.

What are some of the most surprising trends that you saw in mobility over the past 12 months?
B2C is the biggest trend - "There's an App for that!"  Companies wanting to provide their customers with mobile applications.

What do you see happening in the near future, say 2010-2011?
Mobility vendors delivering on their promises and filling the missing "app gaps."  Companies are now educated on mobility.  They are now looking for complete solutions and mobility platforms to execute a full enterprise mobility strategy.

Tell me about some of the most interesting mobile applications you have seen in the market.
We have developed a mobile laundry application.  It is a M2M (machine-to-machine) application.  Laundry machines text students in the dorms when there is a machine available and when it is finished.  Another application I love is from Concur Mobile.  It helps you book travel, manage travel expenses, call taxis and have it all paid for by the credit card they have on file.  No cash needed.  You can also use it to photograph receipts and turn them in as well.  Nice!

What are some of the most unusual mobile applications you have seen?
There is an application that consists of a website and a mobile application. The website shows a 2D barcode on the screen, and your iPhone captures the barcode and activates various games that use the accelerometer on the iPhone to control various objects in races.  Very interesting!

When is a consumer oriented mobile device sufficient, and when do you need a ruggedized industrial grade device?
Consumer devices (smartphones) are capturing market share from industrial grade mobile handhelds.  There is less interest in expensive rugged devices, because the service technician is carrying a smartphone anyway.  If you buy expensive rugged devices, they will now have two devices to break.  Many companies are simply buying rugged cases for smartphones.

What is the most complex mobile application that you have seen?
We developed entire mobile trading systems for use by companies in the financial services industry.  Very complex!  We developed a very sophisticated mobile application for Thomas Reuters that pulled data from dozens of different sources.

What are some of the biggest challenges you see in the mobile industry today?
Rapid changes to mobile operating systems and new mobile devices.  Today Samsung announced a new mobile OS.  Today enterprises use the same mobile OS as consumer devices so we need to stay on top of all of them.

What do you see from ERP vendors in mobility?
All ERPs have to mobilize their solutions.  Pyxis Mobile is supporting all the majors, and we believe this is a competitive advantage.

What is still missing from MEAPs (mobile enterprise application platforms)?
I think MEAP vendors are simply taking different approaches.  Some try to be ERP agnostic.  Others focused on specific markets.  I think the differences will be how effective you are with partners.  Are you systems integrator friendly?  Pyxis Mobile provides tools for SIs to develop and support new mobile applications.  This is important!

How important is mobile device management to your customers?
It isn't.  Our customers don't ask for it.  Smartphones and online app stores seem to have resolved many of the earlier issues.  Perhaps in the future our customers will ask for it.

How is Pyxis Mobile positioned?
We are the one mobility platform that enables all of a company's mobility needs including B2B and B2C.  We cover mobile enterprise and consumer applications.

What are your thoughts on when thick/rich mobile clients are needed and when micro-apps or browser apps are needed?
We like rich native apps that optimize what you can do on each OS and mobile device.

Do your customers want to develop their own mobile applications using your Application Studio, or do they want you to develop it?
About 80% of our customers want us, or one of our systems integrator partners to develop the mobile application for them.  They are not experienced, but we are.

Thanks for your time Chris!!!

To read more interviews in the Mobile Expert Interview series, visit:
- http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/p/mobile-expert-interview-series.html

To watch videos of mobile expert interviews, visit:
- http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/p/mobile-expert-video-series.html

For a weekly recap of mobility news, analysis and market numbers read:
- http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/p/kevins-mobility-news-weekly.html

***************************************************
Kevin Benedict, SAP Mentor, SAP Top Contributor, Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst
CEO/Principal Consultant, Netcentric Strategies LLC
http://www.netcentric-strategies.com/
www.linkedin.com/in/kevinbenedict
http://twitter.com/krbenedict
***Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility consultant and Web 2.0 marketing expert. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.
***************************************************

Kevin's Mobility News Weekly - June 16, 2010 Edition

If you are reading this you have stumbled upon the premier edition of "Kevin's Mobility News Weekly."  This is an online newsletter that is made up of the most interesting news and articles related to enterprise mobility that I run across each week.  I will aggregate the information, include the original links and add a synopsis of each article.  I will also be searching for the latest market numbers such as market size, growth and trends in and around enterprise mobility.

Please send me any interesting mobility news links, market numbers, events, case studies, analyst reports or whitepapers you think I should include in my newsletter.  Enjoy!

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In April Nokia announced it had increased its smartphone market share to 41 percent, up from an estimated 40 percent in Oct.-Dec. last year. That means Nokia sold roughly 21.5 million of the 52.6 million smartphones sold globally during the first quarter.

http://fixed-mobile-convergence.tmcnet.com/topics/mobile-communications/articles/88417-nokia-slow-apples-rims-momentum-the-smartphone-market.htm

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According to Quantcast, Android currently accounts for 19.9 percent of the smartphone market, a rise of 12.2% over the year. Although it's still the single biggest player in the market, the share of Apple's iPhone OS has shrunk by 8.1 percent. The data shows that Research In Motion's BlackBerry OS and other platforms in the operating system market have shrunk by 1.2% and 2.9% respectively.

http://www.itproportal.com/portal/news/article/2010/6/15/android-market-share-growing-iphone-falls-back/

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Devices featuring Apple's iOS mobile operating system lead all other mobile devices with 58.8 percent of mobile Web traffic in the U.S. Android is far behind, but still in second place with 19.9 percent. Next is "other" with 10.9 percent, and after that is Research In Motion with 10.4 percent, according to data released by Quantcast on Monday.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-31021_3-20007637-260.html

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Apple dominates the market for music and mobile apps.  However, its share of the global cellphone market is less than 2%, and it still has only a 15% share of the smartphone market.

http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010/06/15/apple-needs-to-cool-its-rhetoric/

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Apple shares rose nearly 3 percent on Wednesday after it announced sales of more than 600,000 iPhone 4s, a record for just a single day of pre-orders. That put the device on track to surpass sales of its previous iPhone models as well as its iPad tablet computer and sounded a strong challenge to rivals like Nokia Corp., which warned of weaker-than-expected sales at its phones unit.

http://mobile.reuters.com/mobile/m/FullArticle/CTECH/ntechnologyNews_uUSTRE65F4IQ20100617

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Nelsen projects that by fall 2011 smartphones will overtake ordinary cellphones in market share.

http://iphone.usatoday.com/News/1801492/full/;jsessionid=98DA02D7457B58E8E0D79D3DF3451F46.wap2

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The smartphone market continues to see impressive growth around the world and in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region particularly. Shipments in the region are expected to grow 53% year-on-year in 2010 to reach 76.7 million units and are projected to easily surpass 100 million units in 2011.  In 2009 smartphones accounted for 11% of mobile phone shipments in APAC. This percentage is expected to grow steadily, and in 2012 Canalys expects that 20% of mobile phone shipments in the region will be smartphones.

http://www.indiatelecomtracker.com/archives/1412

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ClickSoftware Technologies Ltd. unveiled a major upgrade to its Mobility Suite at the Gartner Wireless, Networking and Communications Summit in San Diego. The solution is specifically designed for service businesses.

http://clicksoftware-mobilefever.blogspot.com/2010/06/clickmobile-advanced-version-811.html

********
Forrester Research is already predicting tablet sales in the U.S. will overtake netbook sales by 2012, and desktop sales by 2015.

http://techcrunch.com/2010/06/17/forrester-tablets-outsell-netbooks/

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The BlackBerry operating system now accounts for 19.4 percent of the worldwide smartphone market, with sales of 10.5 million units in Q1, according to research firm Gartner. BlackBerry trails Symbian (24.0 million units in Q1/44.3 percent market share) but still leads Apple's iPhone (8.3 million units/15.4 percent share) and Google's Android (5.2 million units/9.6 percent share). However, consumer interest in BlackBerry appears to be waning.  A recent Crowd Science survey reports that 39 percent of BlackBerry users would prefer an iPhone as their next purchase and 34 percent said they would favor an Android device.

http://www.fiercemobilecontent.com/story/new-blackberry-devices-rival-apples-mobile-media-dominance/2010-06-15

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Often the IT department finds itself being pressured to support mobile devices and mobile applications that are already in use by employees. All of these issues point to the need to implement and use a mobile device management system.

http://www.vividolabs.com/deskofgregtomb/?p=45

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TOKYO-Toshiba Corporation (TOKYO: 6502) today announced the launch of a 128-gigabyte (GB) embedded NAND flash memory module, the highest capacity yet achieved in the industry. The module is fully compliant with the latest e•MMC standard, and is designed for application in a wide range of digital consumer products, including smartphones, tablet PCs and digital video cameras. Samples will be available from September, and mass production will start in the fourth quarter (October to December) of 2010.

http://i.engadget.com/2010/06/17/toshiba-cooks-up-128gb-nand-flash-for-next-gen-phones-and-pmps/

********
Location services are the latest social media fad, allowing users with smartphones to "check in" to local businesses for points and fun. Twitter jumped on board location services Monday, launching Twitter Places.

http://blogs.computerworld.com/16331/twitter_location

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There are all sorts of mobile phones out there, but the EPI Life is possibly the only handset that can save your life. Designed by Singapore company Ephone International, the EPI Life stands out with a built-in electrocardiogram measurement function linked to a 24-hour health concierge service. It takes 30 seconds to complete a reading, which can be sent back to the firm via GPRS anywhere in the world.

http://mobile.cnet.com/site?t=AaZ5or43whqbfxfoYQ4yKQ&sid=cnet

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Facebook is expected to announce its own location-based service in the coming months, which brings location-based services to more than 400 million users. In other words, location-based networks are only going to get bigger.

http://www.iphoneresource.net/iphone/general/location-based-social-networks-amadeus-consulting-this-week-in-technology

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While Apple has reached its 10,000th iPad application, Google's Android market has increased to about 72,000 total applications. Moreover, the 10,000th iPad application is a fraction of the total number of applications available for Apple's iPad and iPhone, which is more than 200,000 as of Memorial Day last month.  According to Apple CEO Steve Jobs, Apple receives more than 15,000 new application submissions each week. Experts say that if Jobs’s figures are accurate, the company is generating every month about four times the amount of applications over Android. On the other hand, Google records show 14,294 new applications in May 2010 compared to 1,669 in July 2009.

http://www.usanewsweek.com/news/Does-Apple-Need-Verizon-iPhone-As-Apple-vs-Android-War-Intensifies-1276535059/

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In the market for an engagement ring? Forget the usual brick-and-mortar browsing — head to your iPhone's app store and download Tiffany and Co.'s free Engagement Ring Finder.  This is truly an iPhone application that you should only use 4 or 5 times.

http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/fashion/stylephile/2010/06/engagement_ring.html

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Twitter is also generating high volumes of traffic. In 2007 users were tweeting 5,000 times a day, and by 2008 the number had increased to 300,000, reaching 2.5 million per day in January 2009. One year later, in January 2010, the figure had risen to 50 million tweets per day, climbing to 55 million in April 2010. There are 600 million search queries on Twitter per day, which bodes well for the Promoted Tweets sponsored keyword search advertising program.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2010/06/16/businessinsider-twitter-grows-up-and-gets-serious-2010-6.DTL

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Global consumer electronics major Samsung unveiled its new smartphone platform 'bada' for developing next-generation mobile applications."Bada, meaning 'ocean' in Korean, will be a driving force in accomplishing our vision of a smart phone for everyone," Samsung president JS Shin said in a statement in Bangalore on Wednesday.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Samsung-unveils-smartphone-platform-for-new-applications/Article1-558687.aspx

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The following links are interviews that I have conducted over the past few months with enterprise mobility experts and CEOs.

Mobile Expert Interview Series

Mobile Expert Video Series

********
Kevin's winner for the best enterprise mobility video on YouTube - Leapfactor.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBNFtIIZF6g

********

I would invite everyone  that is interested in enterprise mobility to join the Linkedin Group called SAP Enterprise Mobility.


***************************************************
Kevin Benedict, SAP Mentor, SAP Top Contributor, Mobile Industry Analyst
CEO/Principal Consultant, Netcentric Strategies LLC
http://www.netcentric-strategies.com/
www.linkedin.com/in/kevinbenedict
http://twitter.com/krbenedict
***Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility consultant and Web 2.0 marketing expert. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.
***************************************************

ClickSoftware and Rugged Working Environments

It is easy to forget about the world beyond the pocket, but it remains out there.  There is a large market for mobile devices that must survive the rigors of rain, sand, mud and daily impacts.  In the field service automation space, these working environments are the norm.  SAP mobility partner ClickSoftware focuses on this area of enterprise mobility, and this means they add features to their mobility suite that others don't.

I had the opportunity to interview Gil Bouhnick from ClickSoftware a few months ago, and he shared that one of their recent projects included building union regulations and rules into the mobile application.  Before certain tasks could be requested or started the union rules were considered in the mobile application.  How many iPhone and BlackBerry applications have these requirements?

Because ClickSoftware focuses on rugged environments where the field service technician, lineman, or inspector may be working in solitary and remote locations, features have been added to their solutions that would alert the office in case of an emergency.  Again, not many BlackBerry or iPhone applications have that requirement.

I have worked on many mobile forms projects in my time, so I appreciate that ClickSoftware has the solution ClickMobile Forms Editor.  Mobile forms may seem like a rather simple applications these days, but they can be of enormous value.  Let me explain.  Mobile forms applications can have branching workflows in them.  If an inspection reveals a measurement is XYZ, then it automatically jumps to mobile form page 16 where additional questions are asked.  If the measurement was ABC, then it automatically continues to form page 2.  These types of automated mobile forms and their workflows can direct the mobile workforce to complete the field data collection task completely and accurately the first time.  Enterprise asset management, field services and inspection services all require extensive field inspection work that can benefit from mobile forms that wireless synchronize with the office. 

***************************************************
Kevin Benedict, SAP Mentor, SAP Top Contributor, Mobile Industry Analyst
CEO/Principal Consultant, Netcentric Strategies LLC
http://www.netcentric-strategies.com/
www.linkedin.com/in/kevinbenedict
http://twitter.com/krbenedict
***Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility consultant and Web 2.0 marketing expert. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.
***************************************************

The Confession of an Enterprise Mobility Guy

Yesterday, because it was spring weather in Boise, Idaho, I put on a light weight jacket with only one secure interior pocket.  This forced me to choose between putting my wallet or my iPhone in it.  I chose the iPhone. I then proceeded to a store where I sat in a number of different chairs.  When I returned home my wallet was predictably missing. 

As I pondered my earlier choices, I wondered what made me choose my iPhone over my wallet.  What decision would you have made?  My iPhone is a portal into both my personal and professional life.  My wallet is simply a container.

I read in the Wall Street Journal today an article by Katherine Boehret called "A Leash on Mobile Devices that Like to Wander."  It lists two different devices that sound an alarm if you walk too far away from your mobile device.  The problem is these device manufacturers assume you will lose your iPhone rather than your wallet.

I must confess that replacing my wallet now days seems easier than replacing my iPhone.  Someday soon they will be one and the same, and having just one secure pocket in my jacket will suffice.

***************************************************
Kevin Benedict
Author of the report Enterprise Mobile Data Solutions, 2009
Mobile Strategy Consultant, Mobile Industry Analyst and Web 2.0 Marketing Expert
http://www.netcentric-strategies.com/
www.linkedin.com/in/kevinbenedict
twitter: http://twitter.com/krbenedict  
http://kevinbenedict.ulitzer.com/
http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/

***Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility consultant and Web 2.0 marketing expert. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.
**************************************************

Monetizing Mobile Applications in the SAP Ecosystem

SAP is trying to figure out the best way to monetize enterprise mobile applications and B2C mobile applications.  These are complex issues.  Extending the functionality of SAP to mobile users is a key goal for SAP.  They want to enable many, many more users to benefit from SAP. The mobile workforce and consumers are both areas where SAP can extend value, but how do they charge for it?

I have had conversations this month with several SAP ecosystem veterans about this topic.  They remembered conversations several years ago when SAP was quoting full PULs (platform user licenses) for each mobile user.  That did not go over well.  They have since revised that number down, down, down, but now you have mobile micro-applications that just expose little segments of value to users.  How is this going to be monetized by SAP.  There is value for micro-applications vendors and end users for using SAP functionality on an iPhone, but how should it be priced?  How can it be monitored?

SAP's goals are also to extend SAP functionality to consumers' smart phones in a B2C model.  An example would be an iPhone enabled catalog that is hosted on SAP.  It may include inventory updates, shopping carts/order entry, shipment tracking, etc.  How does SAP monetize consumer applications that are developed by mobile application vendors?

I would like to hear your thoughts, as this is an issue that is being worked through now.

*************************************************
Kevin Benedict
Author of the report Enterprise Mobile Data Solutions, 2009
Mobile Strategy Consultant, Mobile Industry Analyst and Web 2.0 Marketing Expert
http://www.netcentric-strategies.com/
www.linkedin.com/in/kevinbenedict  
twitter: http://twitter.com/krbenedict
http://kevinbenedict.ulitzer.com/
http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/

***Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility consultant and Web 2.0 marketing expert. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

**************************************************

AT&T FamilyMap App Treating Your Kids Like a Truck

AT&T has announced the release of their new application called AT&T FamilyMap App. It is a GPS vehicle tracking solution, except it is attached to your kids. Rather than mounting a GPS unit under the dashboard of your vehicle, it is inserted into your child's pocket or backpack.

Fleet managers (i.e. moms and dads) can logon to a website to see the locations of their kids, monitor their comings and goings and time spent at each location. In this article I describe why fleet managers use these applications, but I am not sure I want to attempt to describe why a parent would use it. I have my own kids that just might stumble across this article.

In this article I wrote several months ago, I provided a list of 39 reasons a business might want to invest in GPS fleet tracking. However, I need your help coming up with a list of similar reasons parents should invest in GPS kid tracking.

I look forward to your comments.

***************************************************
Author Kevin Benedict
Mobility Consultant, Wireless Industry Analyst and Web 2.0 Marketing Consultant

http://www.netcentric-strategies.com/
www.linkedin.com/in/kevinbenedict
twitter: http://twitter.com/krbenedict
http://kevinbenedict.ulitzer.com/
http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/

***Full Disclosure: I am a mobility and Web 2.0 marketing consultant and as such I work with, and have worked with, some of the companies mentioned in my articles.
**************************************************

iPhones, Satellites, DVRs and Home Breakins

One month ago: We were half way across town driving to a friend's house to watch the Boise State football team take on TCU in the Fiesta Bowl when I remembered that I had not programmed our DVR to record the game for posterity. I reluctantly confessed this to my wife. She pondered which of our neighbors we could call to break into our house and schedule our DVR to record it. We ultimately decided to just buy the DVD of the game, since teaching our neighbors to breakin to our home did not seem prudent.

Today: I discovered that DirecTV has an iPhone application that enables you to access your DVR account and manage your recordings remotely! OK, I am not the first to discover this, it seems I am user 1,000,001.

It is very intriguing to me, that I can be sitting in Starbuck's while sending a programming request from my iPhone up into outer space where it hits a circling satellite and bounces back down to my satellite dish, travels on a cable from my roof to my living room and programs the DRV box. I started bouncing requests up and down like a basketball. My wife and daughter could not believe dad learned how to program the DVR.

Never again will we need to ask a neighbor to break into our home to program our DVR.

*******************************************************
Author Kevin Benedict
Independent Mobility Consultant, Wireless Industry Analyst and Web 2.0 Marketing Consultant
www.linkedin.com/in/kevinbenedict
twitter: http://twitter.com/krbenedict
http://kevinbenedict.ulitzer.com/
http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/

***Full Disclosure: I am a mobility and Web 2.0 marketing consultant and as such I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned here.
*******************************************************

The Quiet Mobility Company - Sybase

Last March SAP and Sybase(the quiet company) announced a co-innovation partnership to deliver mobility to iPhones, Blackberrys and Windows Mobile devices. Read this excerpt from a March 9, 2009 press release:

"The two companies are co-innovating and collaborating to deliver the new SAP® Business Suite software for the first time to iPhone, Windows Mobile, BlackBerry and other devices by integrating it with Sybase industry-leading mobile enterprise application platform."

My question is where is Sybase? Why are they so quiet? I see them making record profits and issuing an occasional press release, but where are the mobility evangelists? Gartner ranks them number 1 on their Magic Quadrant, but I see more publicity from 10 person start-ups than from iAnywhere or Sybase. Are they engaged in a skunk works project that will explode onto the mobility market in a gigantic marketing extravaganza like Apple? It seems they like to make these potentially interesting announcements and then return to their quiet cave.

Here is the problem with Sybase's silence. It gives the mobility stage to others. This stage is where thought leaders participate in educating the market. It is where visionaries paint new images of what is possible. Sybase's history and customer base give them an opportunity to take the stage. I just don't see them doing it. IT decision makers will forget about them.

How many of you know the name of a visionary in Sybase's mobility group? I am sure they exist, I just never see them leave the cave. I don't see them taking the center stage and commanding our attention.

Perhaps I am just missing them and they are all around me. Do you see them everywhere and I don't? I read Ian Thain's blog often, but are there other voices from Sybase? I look forward to your comments so I can be pointed in the right direction.

I know Sybase and iAnywhere. I did not know John F Kennedy. They have some great mobile middleware technology, but the market is not going to wait for them to come out of their cave and tell us about it.

I see it in companies that are big and have a long history. Newcomers and young visionaries within the company do not feel empowered to write or speak. They don't feel worthy of taking the podium where the company founders once stood decades before and shared ideas and visions. Why? They always feel they will say something wrong and the founders will jump out of their graves. The result is a quiet company.

***********************************************
Author Kevin Benedict
Independent Mobility Consultant, Wireless Industry Analyst and Marketing Consultant
www.linkedin.com/in/kevinbenedict
twitter: @krbenedict
http://kevinbenedict.ulitzer.com/
http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/
***********************************************

Advice for Mobile Start-Ups: Find Your Market Aggregation Points

Mobile start-ups often struggle with how to get their message, product and company brand in front of their target markets. They quickly realize that the expense of marketing their solutions directly to each end user is cost prohibitive. How then can they effectively market their solutions in a cost effective manner?

Mobile start-ups need to first identify their target market, and second identify the "market aggregation" points. In the image above, look at the red dots. Those are the market aggregation points. Those are the points where the mobile start-up needs to be marketing. Why? That is where their audience can be found. The eyes and ears of their target market are tuned to that location.

Mobile start-ups should focus all of their efforts and financial resources on the red dot - market aggregation points. Often it costs no more to invest resources in the red dots, than it does to target each end user - end point.

If you are targeting SAP Mobility, then you will want to look for locations that aggregate that market. Where can you find the eyes and ears of the SAP market? If you are focused on field service automation, where is that market aggregated? If your solutions are exclusively for SAP ERP for iPhones, then where is your market aggregated?

Where are the red dot market aggregation points for your market?

If you would like to discuss this topic in more detail please contact me.

***********************************************
Author Kevin Benedict
Independent Mobility Consultant, Wireless Industry Analyst and Marketing Consultant
www.linkedin.com/in/kevinbenedict
twitter: @krbenedict
http://kevinbenedict.ulitzer.com/
http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/
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iPhone Mobile Audio Guides Created on the Street

Last week I was sitting in a soft leather chair in the corner of the Eagle, Idaho Starbucks Coffee Shop. Not so unusual, but this time I was recording the event on my iPhone using a free application called Woices.com. This application is the result of an entrepreneurial project out of Barcelona, Spain.

This application enabled me to record an audio guides using the "Memo" function of the iPhone, associate a digital photo, capture the GPS coordinates and add a description and title. All of these individual functions exist already on the iPhone, but Woices brings them all together in one clever application and enables you to upload them to a centralized service so others can search and find your audio guide.

When I first opened Woices, it searched on my GPS coordinates for any pre-existing audio guides that were within a certain distance of my location. If they exist, it lists them. In my case, I was the first user in Eagle, Idaho. Woices can turn any storyteller, traveller or history buff into a mobile reporter. I love it!!

The next steps I would like to see are the following:

1) Democratize history - let every person with an experience in a specific location, record it using text, digital photography and audio formats with a GPS coordinate, date and time stamp. It can be first romances, first driving ticket, childhood home or something big like a forest fire you witnessed as a child.
2) Set up a function that will revolutionize newspaper reporting. Let every person be a reporter. They can review the recorded history, experience or event and report on it. These can be picked up by local newspapers and reported under the title of "citizen" reporters.

These features would be intended to merge personal experiences, personal history, social networking and geospatial data together to form a democratic form of history, perhaps a wiki-history and/or wiki-reporting.

Think about it for a moment. How many of us have known people that had volumes of history in their memory, but it was lost with their passing? I would love to walk through a historic neighborhood, and have stories, history and experiences popping up on my iPhone application list as I walked from block to block listening.

What are your thoughts? Where can you see these kinds of features and services being useful in business?

I can see the benefit in big construction projects where experts can share thoughts, recommendations, warnings and insight as they tour the project. These captured thoughts would be associated with audio files, text files, GPS coordinates and digital photos. These recordings could then be accessed by others on the project.

I look forward to your comments!

***********************************************
Author Kevin Benedict
Independent Mobility Consultant, Wireless Industry Analyst and Marketing Consultant
www.linkedin.com/in/kevinbenedict
twitter: @krbenedict
http://kevinbenedict.ulitzer.com/
http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/
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Location Based Services and Mobile Device Customization

Many SMEs (small to medium sized enterprises) that use smartphones such as iPhones would benefit from the ability to add business information, alerts, tags and advice to a specific location on a map. Large enterprises can achieve these features by investing in business analytics, GIS solutions, route optimization applications, mobile data collection solutions and integrate them all with CRMs, but these enterprise solutions are often cost prohibitive for SMEs. They need these features all on a simple mobile application that is either connected to a web service or independent on the device.

Let's consider a few scenarios:

• A taxi driver has found a very good place to pick-up riders. He/she wants to mark this location on a map and include other relevant information such as day of week, time of day and the reason this is a good location.
• A house painting contractor driving through a neighborhood notices that it has a large number of houses that may need painting in the near future. The contractor pulls over, marks a map on his iPhone and enters the details.
• A landscape company owner notices a new housing development is going in. He pulls over and marks his map and enters the details.
• A neighborhood watch member notices ongoing suspicious activities and marks the location on his/her iPhone map and relevant details.
• Citizens report potholes in the road to the appropriate government agencies. They mark the location on their maps and then call in the details or enter the data in a government sponsored website.
• A parent enters the location of their children's friends' homes, by marking them on a map so they can quickly find them and know where they are located.

Any information that is location based and would help a person plan their business or personal life better would be useful. It would be beneficial if these applications were easily customizable so that individual users could quickly and easily edit them for their specific needs.

Can you think of other features that would be useful?
***********************************************
Author Kevin Benedict
Independent Mobility Consultant, Wireless Industry Analyst and Marketing Consultant
www.linkedin.com/in/kevinbenedict
twitter: @krbenedict
http://kevinbenedict.ulitzer.com/
http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/
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Mobile Applications for Fighting Crime, Reporting Potholes and Birdwatching

Several years ago I consulted with a company in The Netherlands on a city government project to enable all city workers to instantly become the eyes and ears of the police during emergencies. It worked like this - an alert would be sent to all city workers that had government issued phones and were located in a certain geographic area. This alert would ask them to look for a specific car, person or suspicious activity.

This project was clever, efficient but also a little creepy. If the police are chasing a bad guy through the city, then asking for all city workers within a certain area to keep their eyes and ears open is efficient, since it is in all of our best interests to stop bad guys, but in the wrong hands creepy. From a resource utilization, a great idea. This project was an early example of location based services (LBS). If your phone is in this particular zone, keep your eyes open for this bad guy.

This summer Microsoft acquired EveryBlock, a company that feeds local crime and health inspection information to news organizations. With GPS enabled phones, crimes can be reported that are instantly shown on maps and available for the public to see. Instead of just using city employees you are turning the entire populace, at least those with smartphones, into your eyes and ears.

Mobile technologies with integrated GPS are helping the public to be even more involved in the management and priorities of local government as this NPR article describes. The Citizens Connect iPhone app is part of the Boston Mayor's strategy for working closer with citizen's to help manage the city. The program is called Citizens Connect. The Citizens Connect iPhone app is targeted at enlisting Boston residents and visitors to gather information about the physical state of the city (See photo above about pothole reporting).

I am very impressed with these applications and their utility. I consulted on another project where a non-profit organization was taking inventory, using smartphones, of trash and abandoned vehicles in particular neighborhoods. This information was then synchronized into a database and clean-up efforts were organized based upon this information.

Another interesting application that I read about yesterday is called Birdseye. This is an iPhone application for birdwatchers, but it is not just a static reference application. It uses the integrated GPS features of the iPhone to identify the location of bird sightings. This information gets uploaded to Cornell University's Lab of Ornithology and its massive eBird database of bird sightings. This information is then distributed to all subscribed members of the eBird email distribution list. Beware of reporting a rare bird in your backyard. In minutes you may have hundreds of strange people in safari attire and binoculars elbowing their way onto your property.

From a mobile technology standpoint, many of these iPhone applications are similar. They involve mobile data collection with integrated GPS coordinates that are uploaded to a publicly available Internet based application that distributes this information to subscribed members and the collected data is shown on a map.

Have you seen other clever applications? Please share them by adding them to the comments below.

***********************************************
Author Kevin Benedict
Independent Mobility Consultant, Wireless Industry Analyst and Marketing Consultant
www.linkedin.com/in/kevinbenedict
http://kevinbenedict.ulitzer.com/
http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/
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